Parallels
by shambell
Summary: AU Tonks has joined the order, she's is darker than she seems. Everyone deserve a private life and their own secrets. Sirius' reminded of is his past failures and those he could't save. Sirius isn't the only Black trapped in the Noble Ancient house that faced Walbura's wrath. Regulus is made a guardian briefly and Alastor wants his goddaughter. Flashbacks used.


I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing. I didn't want to know the details, I didn't need them but if I left now, no, I couldn't do that it would be improper to do so, I will do right. I am not like the rest of them, if mother wishes to take the child then so be. I, however will oversee the treatment given to, I will not allow it to fend for itself. Mother can be, difficult is probably the best way to describe her.

I hope it will not take long because I can't stand it. I hate being here, at the scene of the crime as they are calling it. I can feel the dark magic in the air, I can feel the familiarity of, the worst of it though is I'm not sure whom the magic belongs to. I do not know which sister desperately cast such dark spells; spells that have been outlawed for centuries yet still passed on throughout our family, I do not know if any of these spells hit their mark. All around me is pain and I can hear the cries hidden within the walls. I can see the dangerous that has destroyed this modest home.

My heart aches, knowing what has done this; an outcast has been treated this way by someone that she once called sister, I wonder if I may have to do the same. The copper scent of blood runs through the air. The mangled corpse of the mud-blood is still at the top of the stairs, they are still trying to piece him back together; the dark magic that tore through this house, the same magic that tore through him is still trying to fight back, causing them more problems. Surprisingly, his body does not bother me, mother is awaiting me at home and I wish to follow her request quickly. However, to do so means facing the other body, I am not quite ready to do that yet, the child is still clutched to it, _oh god, not 'it', her._ The other body is the compromise I make with myself; if I were to call 'the body' by her name, if I am to acknowledge that she was a real person , that means acknowledging whom she is, was. I cannot do that, I'm not ready, as for the child.

The child is strong-willed from what I know; I have met the child a grand total of once. I was dining with my cousin when the child wondered over; I was unaware of their parentage at first. The child politely asked us if we had seen her mother, I glanced around looking for a worried parent when I glanced at my cousin. She had panic in her eyes and was shaking her head at the child, I knew then that something was wrong. It was only when the mud-blood ran over did I guess the parentage. That was around two years ago. Now the child was older, more aware, just turned five by what the Auror said.

I was grateful that the D.M.L.E was called as well as the aurors. Even more so when I realised not everyone knew what had happened, not when those who were thought to be order members had not been informed yet. I was relieved to know that my mother was the first to be contacted, they could not reach other family members, and they had not called my brother yet. I imagine that he will not be told of this occurrence yet, not before the child's godfather has been made aware. I had to collect the child and sign the forms before he knew, otherwise the child would be lost and mother most displeased. My brother would probably find out afterwards. I had to move quickly before anything like that happened.

I walked through the destroyed dining room, it was bad in here. The walls were covered in remnants of the spells used, a broken coffee table lay smashed and upturned on the floor resting against the couch. The windows were cracked, blood and glass caked the floor leaving nothing untouched. A broken frame crunched against my feet as I walked further into the room, bending down I grasped it. At the sight I nearly dropped it, it was a magical photograph containing three people. However, it was not just the identities of those in the picture that concerned me but rather the actions which had been carried out. The least concerning on that picture was my cousin, looking every bit like her sister; she walked in the frame before setting down on the grass, once on the grass she turned towards her child like a predator and pounced, turning into a sleek black panther playing teasingly with her child. My shock would have ended there if not for seeking my brother do a similar thing; I didn't know they were animagi, I certainly didn't know my own brother would look like the grim. It was the child though that caught my attention. It made sense why mother was insisting on taking on guardianship, or rather making me do so seeing as I was now of age. I wonder if she would have been quite as insistent if she knew my cousin was the child's secret godmother, see when my cousin has had too many glasses on a particularly stressful day she tends to have a looser mouth, and on the occasion we saw her sister I had the gracious pleasure of seeing her like that. She told me how her sister had reached out to her, how the child didn't actually belong to the mud-blood but the true more pure shame of her existence meant that her sister would pretend to have a half-blood. She told me how the child originally had our last name before her Christening, then the child was given her husband's name. Now that day provided me with a lot of information although, it did come at a cost, my cousin did remember and she had secrets on everyone and had not so nicely threatened me, the thought of that made me shudder and brought me back to the present.

I kept looking at the picture as I walked closer to the scarlet robed auror. He was relatively new to the field and seemed to be managing poorly to calm my cousin's child, it would have been relatively amusing under different circumstances, god I wished that it was under different circumstances. I watched the man continue before glancing at the picture once more before pocketing it, I made a quick sweep of the room ensuring that none of the other pictures were like this one, they weren't thankfully. I could only imagine the riot that the likes of Skeeter would cause if she knew of this picture, if she knew about two unregistered animagi. I think she would have a heart attack if she saw the child though, I mean how many times in a lifetime do you get to see a metamorphmagus.

As I neared the man I introduced myself, clearing my throat and extending my arm to the man I spoke as he grasped my hand. "Black, Regulus Black. I am here to identify my cousin Andromeda" I gestured my head towards the lifeless bloodied body of my elder cousin; her eyes were still open, the same eyes as Cissy. She had a trail of blood running from her scalp, trickling all the way down from her high cheek bones to her chin. Even in death she looked like a pureblood princess, with her attractive natural looks, to the way she had presented herself, her plump lips pressed together giving her a cat-like look. It made her appear as if she were about to smirk, she looked like she had won, maybe lost the battle, _and her life I bitterly added._ But she looked as though she had won an age old war, like she knew something her murdered didn't. Knowing Andromeda she most likely did manage to break something in her killer, her older sister.

I pulled back from the Auror, walking towards my cousin tears prickling in my eyes threatening to fall. I remembered of a time before the war was upon us.

*FLASHBACK*

"Calm yourself Reggie. If your mother sees you showing emotion like this she will be angered. You must remember to be strong; we are here for you use us as your strength. Family is important; you can show them your true emotions. You can show me, you can show our siblings and possibly Uncle Alphard and Aunt Cassie, but you must know you cannot show it to others. Strangers cannot always be trusted and you cannot let them know if they hurt you, for they may do it again." Andromeda wiped her cousin's tears and pulled him into a quick hug, her calm reassuring voice had somewhat soothed the young child. Whilst still crouched down to his level, in an unlady-like fashion what would indefinitely cause her trouble later, she looked into his eyes, so similar yet different to hers she spoke again. "You understand this, don't you?" the question hung in the air until he nodded, this caused her to continue. "I love you Regulus, I see you. Now put on your pureblood face. Devoid any emotion, control you voice and tone, be in control. If you are in control of your emotions, you can control who hurts you. "The child sniffled before jerking himself straight and ridding himself of any emotion. Nodding toward his cousin she lifted herself from the floor and off of him. However, she still firmly and protectively held his shoulders, glaring at the males before her, the Lestrange, Malfoy, and Carrow boys. Seeing his cousin being fierce, he used her for strength as if pulling it from her as he glared at the others causing them to walk away.

*BACK TO THE DESTROYED HOUSE*

I leaned down towards her, pulling on my pureblood face, ensuring the Auror did not see my weakness, I gathered my strength from my cousin once more, looking at her body knowing she managed to save her child. Knowing that her sister had failed, Bellatrix might have won this battle with her sister but ultimately she had lost the war with her as well. I crouched down onto the floor, this caused the small child to lift her head from her mother's breast, and I beckoned the child towards me. I showed her the smallest of smiles, I showed her emotion and she came towards me. I pulled my hand from my side and reached over to Andie. Resting my hand above her face, I then put my hand down and closed her eyes. This action seemed to break the child, a small anguished scream was released into the tormented home, and the child then crawled towards me and curled into my chest. Wrapping both of my arms around her, I lifted us both off of the floor. Turing towards the man I continued to speak. "I am also here to claim guardianship of her daughter, Nymphadora. Nymphadora Vulpecula. "


End file.
